DON’T WANNA-BES: Gangs in the fifth grade...

DON’T WANNA-BES: Gangs in the fifth grade in Encino? As the Thunderheads and the Snakes readied a playground rumble, two scary, adult-size “gangstas” showed up to menace them--gang squad cops in authentic disguise (B1). “They think gangs are cool as long as they are at a distance,” the principal said. “But when confronted face-to-face with what they thought were real gangsters, they were scared straight.” . . . Some experts say grade school is where gang life begins.

“%$&+’$!! RIGHT”: High school coaches swear they disapprove of players’ profanity, but policing tongues in the heat of combat is another matter (C1). . . . “Sometimes even we as coaches lose a little self-control,” says one. “There’s no place in sports for it,” another says. “Unfortunately, I’m one of the worst offenders.”

LEGO MANIAC: A card-carrying adult member of the Lego Builder’s Club confesses his passion for the interlocking plastic bricks. With four years work and $5,000, his Sherman Oaks living room holds a miniature city with railroads, airports and harbors. . . . Friends wonder if he’s bonkers, but his wife prefers Lego to more expensive hobbies (E1).

BIGGER, SMALLER: Is that a smart move by Great Western Bank, buying up HomeFed? Analysts say the $155-million price makes sense only if Great Western quickly lures back the depositors who left troubled HomeFed (D1). . . . Meanwhile, a cost-cutting campaign could eliminate 1,000 jobs at Great Western’s Chatsworth headquarters.

MEMORIES OF HELL: It’s been 48 years since three young soldiers established a lifelong friendship on a walk through a historic horror. The trio, two of them now ministers, meet regularly in Pacoima, haunted by the day they and other American troops burst through the gate of a snow-covered German camp . . . and found Dachau (B1).